This is disgusting...how does someone who is selling puppies..LIVING BEINGS to complete strangers with no more knowledge of what kind of home this animal is going into..how is this something to be applauded as being anything other then what it IS! A blantant disregard for LIFE !! Animals have NEEDS, FEELINGS, they have the ability to know pain, fear, sorrow,AND LOVE! This is the height of irresponsibility..there is already an over population of DESIGNER dogs..like Shoodles, PEEKAPOOS, and various others that are simply MONGRELS with a fancy name.EVEN so...the fact that these are living creatures..creatures meant to be the help meet, and companion of MAN! How does this little obviously poorly raised 'punk" even know if the puppies he is selling are not being used as BAIT to train fighting dogs..the fact that PIT FIGHTING is outlawed doesn't mean it isn't happening!! How DARE you hold this young man up as a TEEN TITAN, calling him an ENTREPRENEUR!! He and obvioulsy his family is ignorant and places little VALUE on LIFE..where animals are concerned.Those who do not value "small" this kid sounds to me more like a sociopath then a TEEN TITAN!! lives..rarely value ANY life other then their OWN!!
Why didn't People magazine do their homework before running and promoting this horrendous story about a front for puppy mills? I will never buy another one of your magazines!
Please do not promote puppy mills by putting this cute "front" face on them. We urge you to do a full article on Puppy Mills and what they are REALLY like behind the scenes. It would be a public service!
Thanks!
Shame on you for promoting puppy mills, no matter what age this little "budding merchant" is. It's not cute nor admirable. Bring your cameras into one of these puppy mills and see what really goes on, and how sick these little defenseless babies are. You are not only promoting this little brat and his money hungry Mom, but also the "so called" breeders who sell their stock to people like this. Please do a follow up on the importance of rescue and reputable breeders.
It wouldn't be so pretty if you'd get your cameras out of your butts and follow up on these disgusting people and the unsightly puppy mills. Mom and the kid should get a "real" job!!!!
Responsible journalism begins with full investigation of both sides to write a fair and balanced article. Why not expose the dark, cruel side of shameless "breeders" and do a real story, or do you just want to print the happy feel-good stories??
One should not, in all good conscience, applaud the efforts of anyone for making money at the expense of a living being. The focus of this venture is obviously on the money and not at all on the well-being, happiness or comfort of the dogs, supposedly "man's best friends." This boy may be too young to see the big picture, being so caught up in his success, but shame on the adults who took pleasure in running his story.
This boy and his mother are adding to America's pet overpopulation crisis and they are profiting from it. What a shame they are so unaware and selfish. I am very disappointed in People magazine for promoting him.
This is absolutely disguisting. I can't believe a reputable magazine would print this trash. I will no longer read this magazine and I would expect them to cease from ever doing a story like this again. It is appaling to say the least, knowing how cruel and inhumae puppy mills are.
I am so very saddened and disgusted by this article.People should do an article on Shelter Dogs,Puppy Mills and Buying from Pet Stores....not the cuddly/sick puppies that are wiggly giggly when purchased....but the majority that end up in shelters due to irresponsible owenrship,health,behavior problems. .Take a trip to your local shelter and see where the product of puppy mills show up,beaten battered and sick.This kid could promote adopting shelter dogs and kittens and give them a chance or better yet, he should volunteer at a high kill shelter in all phases: Greeting owners who dump them outside,being involved in putting them to sleep & looking at sad statistics of minority who are adopted. Shame on you People.
When I was young and too stpid to know better, I purchased a puppy mill Lab, who turned out to have bad bathroom habits all his life. This miserable way of selling purebread dogs needs to STOP!
I certainly support praising the efforts of young people who prove themselves to be outstanding. And I am pleased to see a magazine such as People, with such a large readership take an interest in young people. Unfortunately, this article, while intended to praise this young man, will result in an implied endorsement for an industry that has been shown to be questionable. I would hope that People magazine take positive steps to remedy an endorsement that I believe you did not intend.
Congratulations. This unresearched article wil now encourage more teens, and others, to embark on a new profession using animals to make a buck, and the heck with what happens to these poorly bred dogs.
I think that People Magazine should feel obliged to make a huge donation to the humane society and the rescue organizations who will have to step up and take in all these 'left overs' and
believe me, having been in rescue for years, there will be loads of them. There are already millions of cats and dogs killed at the shelters because they can't find homes. When people buy animals and the animal gets sick or needs special care, they just dump them. Some in the streets, some get to shelters. Please write a story telling about the true results of this disgusting puppymilling.
And.......please - research your next articles!
To this young man...I hope you realize what you are going is very wrong. And if you really look into the eyes of thoses puppies, then into your own heart, and if you have any real love for thoses inncent animals at all, you will see what a terrible thing you are doing. You are a puppymill!
A magazine with the circulation of "People" is in a position to educate people to try to stop the horrors of puppy mills and backyard breeders and the inhumanity of selling dogs via the internet.
There are too many wonderful dogs waiting in shelters across the country. Timothy Hampson's time could be well spent if he helped place dogs in shelters, rather than contributing to the puppy mill problem. Although I guess there isn't enough profit in that.
This kid should get a mandated community service (as in non-paying) job holding all those cute cuddly puppies that are about to be euthanized at his local shelter. Shame on Mom and shame on People Magazine for promoting such a horrible "business". How about an article featuring a high kill shelter and showing some of the cute cuddly puppies that never make it out. Then a follow up article on animal rescue organizations that save only a portion of these 'throw away' pets.
This is a good idea!!These puppymills and their like need to see the light of public opinion and the damage they do .the cost we bear for their greed and ignorance is shocking Theres to much money being made and the animals suffer from indifference and greed
Absolutly horrible. Puppy mills should be illegal, and no one should allow somthing so disqusing .This is nothing more than a child who is money hungry, a child has no business "selling" dogs, i doubt he could even own one.
I can't believe the person that wrote this article was ignorant about puppymills. Come on! Research your topics before you write such trash and support a business that thrives on the suffering of dogs just for profit! I'm glad I've never bought your magazine!
I was absolutely appalled at this story. Better research should have been done before running a story like this. Maybe the plight of puppy mills dogs would have persuaded you to not publish it. Shame on you!
I have owned a dog from a backyard breeder. She developed health problems due to thoughtless breeding. Please expose these non-professional, non-caring breeders to the light of public scrutiny.
A friend rescued a French Bull Terrier from a puppy mill pet shop. The poor pup will be having surgery for severe hip dysplasia and a stenosed trachea. She has a loving home and loving care and will survive.
As a volunteer foster parent for displaced and abandoned dogs I can attest to the sadness that follows irresponsible breeding like that promoted by 'People Magazine' in this issue. Furthermore, the inhumane treatment that befalls these poor creatures is more often than not due solely to ignorance and greed. This is a poor excuse for the continued propagation of these benign and benevolent animals (especially by what is one of the most widely circulated and read periodicals in America). I will certainly think twice about the research and reporting involved in People after seeing this article.
I helped care for 13 puppy mill puppies with parvo. 2 died. It was VERY ugly when they start vomiting blood & have bloody diahrrea, get so listless they can't stand up, then their little eyes, IF they can focus on you, look up ask if to ask "why me?" If those people would go through that, then maybe they might change their minds. Please, don't buy or breed when so many are euthanized due to the fact that pets are just 'throw aways' to so many people.
I am shocked that People magazine would cast such attention on such a disgrace. I have experienced a new level of sadness after learning about the fate of puppy mill dogs.
I have done rescue work for 20 yrs.It is worse every year. There needs to be legislation to stop puppy mills and to require spay/neuter for all dogs and cats, with tightly controlled exceptions. How sad that this family does not value life over money. How sad they don't care about the suffering of mans only friend: The Dog.
These puppy mills must be stopped. People manazine must set an example and allow the atticle to be put into their magazine about puppymills. If people were aware of the truths behind puppymills, people like this teenager wouldn't be praised for all the good he is doing. He is only promoting puppymills, and is doing more harm than good.
So very sad that the boys mother isn't up to date or perhaps she doesn't care about animal welfare issues so that she could advise her son on the moral issues concerning puppymills.
How sad that your magazine felt the need to publish an article in praise a teenager in the business of selling puppies from puppy mills. A business based on the suffering and pain inflicted on helpless creatures. While this young man's business is not a puppy mill, he is a broker for those puppy mills. There is no way he could get such a wide variety of breeds from reputable breeders. I hope that in the very near future you will include a major feature on the true picture of puppy mills and those who profit from them. The people who run these mills and who sell the puppies produced there should be exposed. Until the public is truly educated concerning the horrendous conditions and the callous treatment found at these mills, people will continue to spend money for inferior dogs. Usually these dogs end up in shelters because of serious health or behavior problems. Reputable breeders breed for sound health, breed standards and temperament. Reputable breeders screen buyers of their puppies. Reputable breeders care for and love their dogs. PLEASE do an expose of the puppy mills.
Amy B.
Just for balance, let's either show some kindhearted teen who rescues pets from the pounds, dumped once the novelty wears off and there is no lifetime "right of first refusal," or make this enterprising teen and his mom spend a day at a shelter, apologizing to every animal as it is put to sleep that there was not a home for it.
Please don't encourage these activities. There are enough ill-equipped and inexperienced people involved in inhumane puppy mill operations without you endorsement.
Your article featuring a teen breeding for profit is appalling and surely has offended every knowledgeable dog lover in the US.
Hopefully all will cancel their subscription as I am doing!
